Stable-free-standing bag of heat sealable or weldable plastic foil

ABSTRACT

A free-standing bag made of a heat-sealable or weldable plastic material and used for receiving therein liquids and/or pastes, said bag comprising two side walls connected to each other along their longitudinal edges, a foldable bottom element, which is disposed between said side walls and which serves as a supporting base, being inserted between the bottom transverse edges, whereas in the area of the other ends of said side walls a foldable lid element, which is disposed between said side walls, is inserted, and further comprising a discharge opening. In order to improve the handling characteristics of the free-standing bag when the contents are being poured out and in order to ensure also ease of manufacture, the discharge opening is formed between the upper transverse edge of a side wall and the complementary edge of the lid element.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention refers to a free-standing bag made of aheat-sealable or weldable plastic foil and used for receiving thereinliquids and/or pastes, said bag comprising two side walls connected toeach other along their longitudinal edges, a foldable bottom element,which is disposed between said side walls and which serves as asupporting base, being inserted between the bottom transverse edges,whereas in the area of the other ends of said side walls a foldable lidelement, which is disposed between said side walls, is inserted, andfurther comprising a discharge opening.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Free-standing bags made of plastic foils are known in particular asthrow-away packings for beverages, but also for washing powder or thelike. Free-standing bags according to the generic clause are describede.g. in German Utility Model G 89 00 883 and also in German UtilityModel G 89 00 882. The bottom of such bags is provided with a supportingbase so that the bag can be placed on a surface also in its open state,without the contents of the bag flowing out through the dischargeopening formed in the upper area and without the bag tilting over.Furthermore, in order to increase the stability, an additional lidelement, whose structural design is similar to that of the supportingbase, is incorporated between the side walls in the upper part of suchbags so that, when filled, bags of this type have a cylinderlike shape.

A fundamental advantage of such free-standing bags is to be seen in thefact that, as long as they have not been filled, they can be folded verytightly and that, consequently, they require only very little space.When filled, they have, however, a comparatively high inherent stabilityand are thus particularly suitable for use as refillable packings forthe media which have already been mentioned hereinbefore.

In the case of the known bags, the discharge opening is realized eitherin the area of the lid element (German Utility Model 89 00 883) or inthe upper part of a side wall (German Utility Model 89 00 882).

In the first case, the discharge opening lies centrally in the middle ofthe free-standing bag and projects like a pouring spout; however, due toits flexibility, said spout does not always permit a stable discharge ofthe medium during pouring out, in particular when the medium is beingrefilled into bottles, so that there is the risk of spilling.

In the second case, i.e. when the discharge opening is formed in theside wall, the free-standing bag must be brought up to the vessel to befilled from the side for transferring the contents of said bag into saidvessel, and this may cause problems as well.

It is the object of the present invention to improve the handlingcharacteristics of a free-standing bag of the type mentioned at thebeginning when the contents are being poured out and to ensure alsogreater ease of manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, this object is achieved by thefeature that the discharge opening is formed between the uppertransverse edge of a side wall and the complementary edge of the lidelement. It follows that a stable discharge of the substance containedin the bag can be guaranteed because said substance can flow along theside wall until it reaches the discharge opening without being rerouted.In addition, the free-standing bag according to the present inventioncan be produced easily and at a moderate price, since it suffices toleave open part of the welding seam between the upper transverse edge ofa side wall and the complementary edge of the lid element.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the discharge opening isdefined by a side wall flap, formed on a side wall and projecting beyonda transverse edge of said side wall, and a lid element flap formed onthe lid element in a corresponding manner, said side wall flap and saidlid element flap being interconnected along their longitudinal edges.

On the basis of this solution, the discharge opening is defined by twoflaps, one flap being part of the side wall, whereas the other flap ispart of the lid element. By means of connecting the longitudinal edges,a discharge opening is thus formed, and the medium to be discharged canagain flow freely along the side wall up to the end in the area of theopening, i.e. it is not rerouted. This results in a "smooth" uniformdischarge flow so that even small amounts can be transferred preciselywithout any risk of spilling. In addition, the production is very simplebecause, when the individual foil components are being prepared, itsuffices to cut out a protruding portion on the side wall for formingthe side wall flap and a complementary protruding portion on the lidelement.

In accordance with an advantageous further development of the presentinvention, a screw plug element is inserted in the discharge opening. Bymeans of this measure, the discharge opening can be closed easily, if,for example, only part of the content of the free-standing bag has beentransferred to some other receptacle or discharged.

A further embodiment of the present invention discloses that, on thesides of of the discharge opening, the corner areas of the side wall atwhich said discharge opening is formed are interfacially connected tothe associated corner areas of the lid element in a triangular shape upto the point where the longitudinal edges of the discharge openingbegin. This has the effect that, during pouring out, the liquid to bedischarged is laterally supplied to the discharge opening, and,especially when the media to be discharged are liquid media, this willresult in a smooth discharge flow.

In accordance with a further advantageous embodiment, an opening forfilling the bag is provided in the area of the bottom between one sideof the bottom element and a lower transverse edge of a side wall. In thecase of this embodiment, corresponding bottom flaps can be provided inthe area of the bottom on one side of the bottom element and on thelower transverse edge of the side wall, said bottom flaps beinginterconnected along their longitudinal edges and defining the openingfor filling the bag. This solution provides, in addition to thedischarge opening, a separate opening for filling the bag, said openingbeing closed after the filling operation by interconnecting thecorresponding flaps by means of heat-sealing carried out e.g. from thebottom. The contents are then discharged through the discharge opening.If a separate opening for filling the bag is not provided, the dischargeopening is also used for filling the bag.

A further advantageous embodiment of the present invention shows thefeature that the side walls are provided with outwardly directedlongitudinal embossings which extend in spaced relationship with eachother between the transverse edges.

These longitudinal embossings define longitudinal folding lines that areembossed in the foil material. In the filled state of the bag, apolygonal shape (when seen in a horizontal section) of the filledreceptacle, i.e. a configuration deviating from the round shape, will beobtained, depending on the number of longitudinal embossings. If, forexample, two such longitudinal embossings are arranged in spacedrelationship with each other in each side wall, the resultantfree-standing bag will have a hexagonal shape in the filled state sothat the receptacles can be juxtaposed closely for the purpose oftransport or for the purpose of presentation in shops so that there willbe less dead space between said receptacles than in the case of abuttingreceptacles having a round cross-section.

Another further development of the present invention shows the featuresthat the side wall flap and the lid element flap have an essentiallyrectangular shape, and that, finally, the outer contour of the bagdefines a square whose edges are between 10 and 15 cm long.

Bags of this type are very convenient to handle and they are suitablefor a great variety of different applications.

In the following, the present invention will be explained in detail onthe basis of the drawing, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective exploded view of the component parts of afirst embodiment of a free-standing bag according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the free-standing bag according to thepresent invention of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 shows a view of the free-standing bag cut longitudinally alongline III--III of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 shows a side view of the free-standing bag cut longitudinallyalong line IV--IV of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 5 shows a top view of a receptacle cut horizontally along line V--Vand having the shape which the receptacle assumes in its filled state,

FIG. 6 shows a perspective exploded view of the component parts of asecond embodiment of a free-standing bag according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 shows a side view of the free-standing bag according to thepresent invention of FIG. 6,

FIG. 8 shows a view of the free-standing bag cut longitudinally alongline IX--IX of FIG. 6,

FIG. 9 shows a side view of the free-standing bag cut longitudinallyalong line VII--VII of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In FIG. 1, the individual components of a first embodiment of thefree-standing bag according to the present invention are shown. Theseparts are preferably formed of a composite structure of two foilmaterials in a manner which is known per se.

The free-standing bag according to the present invention comprises aside wall 2, a side wall 3, a bottom element 10 that serves as asupporting base, and a lid element 11.

In the connected condition of the bag, the bottom element and the lidelement lie within the contour of the side walls. These parts thenunfold in an appropriate manner when the receptacle is being filled.

The lid element 11 has integrally formed thereon a lid element flap 15in accordance with the present invention. Also the side wall 2 hasintegrally formed thereon the side wall flap 14 in a mannercorresponding to the lid element flap 15. The individual parts are nowinterconnected for producing the bag. In so doing, the longitudinaledges 4 and 5 of side wall 3 are sealed with the longitudinal edges 6and 7 of side wall 2 along the hatched sections. The corner areas 3a,3b, 3c and 3d of side wall 3 are interfacially connected to the cornerareas 11a, 11b, 10b and the rear corner of the bottom element in atriangular shape, said rear corner of the bottom element being not shownin the drawing.

The corner areas 11d, 11c, 10a and 10c are--in accordance with thissequence--heat-sealed with the corner areas 2d, 2c, 2b and 2a of sidewall 2, again in a triangular shape.

The respective edges of the bottom element and of the lid elementpointing sidewards are heat-sealed with the longitudinal edges 4, 6 and5, 7, again in the longitudinal direction.

Finally, the lower edge 8 is connected to the bottom element edgeassociated therewith, whereas the lower edge of the bottom element 10,which faces the side wall 2, is heat-sealed with the lower edge 9 ofsaid side wall.

The lid element is heat-sealed along its upper edge, which faces sidewall 3, with the complementary upper edge of said side wall, whereas thelid element flap 15 is heat-sealed with the complementary longitudinaledges 17 and 19 of the side wall flap 14 only along the longitudinaledges 16 and 18 thereof.

In accordance with one variation of the free-standing bag according tothe present invention, which is also outlined in FIG. 1 by means ofbroken lines, the lower side of the side wall 2 and the surface of thebottom element 10 facing said lower side of the side wall can havearranged thereon bottom flaps 2e and 10e, respectively, corresponding tothe side wall and lid element flaps 14 and 15. These flaps can again beinterconnected along their longitudinal edges in such a way that anopening for filling the bag is formed in this area; after the fillingoperation, said opening can be heat-sealed interfacially or along theedges so as to close the bag.

The discharge opening 12 is formed by welding or heat-sealing the lidelement flap and the side wall flap along the longitudinal edgesthereof; as can be seen in FIG. 2, a screw plug element can be securedin position in said discharge opening 12 by means of heat-sealing. Theresultant bag can, as a whole, be closed again, if it has not beenemptied completely after having been used.

The side walls 2 and 3 are additionally provided with out-wardlydirected longitudinal embossings 21 extending in spaced relationshipwith each other, as can be seen from FIG. 5.

These longitudinal embossings 21, two of which are realized in each sidewall in the embodiment shown, have the effect that, when seen in a topview cut long the line V--V of FIG. 2, the filled bag assumes a shape ofthe type shown in FIG. 5. This hexagonal shape permits the bags to bearranged simply side by side without any dead space. FIGS. 3 and 4 showthe respective longitudinally cut shapes of the free-standing bag in itsassembled condition; these figures show that, at the point where thedischarge opening 12 is formed, a removal passage extending along thewhole side wall without any interruptions is formed so that pouring outcan be performed in a very simple and uniform manner. As can be seen inFIG. 2, the bag according to this embodiment has an essentially squareshape; for practical use, an edge length between 10 and 15 cm proved tobe the edge length which should preferably be used.

FIGS. 6 and 9 show a second embodiment according to the presentinvention. Said second embodiment essentially corresponds to the firstone, but it comprises neither a lid element flap 15 on the lid element11 nor a corresponding side wall flap 14 for forming the dischargeopening 12. In this embodiment, said discharge opening is formed betweenthe upper transverse edge 20 of side wall 2 and the complementary lidelement edge 22. As has already been described in connection with thepreceding embodiment, the bag is heat-sealed, with the exception of thearea of the discharge opening between the lid element and the side wall2. As can be seen in FIG. 7, a screw plug element can be secured inposition in said discharge opening 12 by means of heat-sealing. Ofcourse, also this embodiment offers the possibility of providing, in themanner which has been described hereinbefore, an opening for filling thebag in the area of the bottom element.

It goes without saying that the rectangular shape of the lid elementflap and the side wall flap according to the present embodiments can bereplaced by other shapes; it is, for example, also possible to choose atapering flap shape so as to obtain a "pouring spout".

What is claimed is:
 1. In a free-standing bag made of a plastic foil andused for receiving therein liquids, comprising two side walls connectedto each other along their longitudinal edges, a foldable bottom element,which is disposed between said side walls and which serves as asupporting base, being inserted between a bottom transverse edge of eachof said side walls, whereas in an area at the top of said side walls afoldable lid element, which is disposed between said side walls, isinserted, and further comprising a discharge opening, which is formedbetween the upper transverse edge (13, 20) of one of said side walls (2)and the complementary edge (21, 22) of said lid element, the improvementcomprising:means for plugging said discharge opening being permanentlysecured within the discharge opening, the side walls (2, 3) beingprovided with outwardly directed longitudinal embossing (21) extendingin spaced relationship with each other between the transverse edges andeach side wall having corner areas which are interfacially connected toassociated corner areas of the lid element and of the bottom element ina triangular shape.
 2. In the free-standing bag according to claim 1,wherein the discharge opening is defined by a side wall flap, formed onone of said side walls and protecting beyond a transverse edge of saidone of said side walls, and a lid element flap formed on the lid elementin a corresponding manner, said side wall flap and said lid element flapbeing interconnected along their longitudinal edges.
 3. In thefree-standing bag according to claim 2, and including a side wall flapand a lid element flap, wherein said side wall flap and said lid elementflap have an essentially rectangular shape.
 4. In the free-standing bagaccording to claim 1 wherein said side wall flap (14) and said lidelement flap (11) have an essentially rectangular shape.
 5. Thefree-standing bag according to claim 1 or 2, said free-standing baghaving an outer contour defining a square whose edges are between 10 and15 cm long.